A joint labour committee that will police pay and conditions in the €130m Irish mushroom industry and end the damaging publicity about the exploitation of migrant workers is under discussion by government, growers and unions.

Talks on the proposed plan have already taken place between representatives of the industry and Irishl labour affairs minister Tony Killeen. Now meetings are being held between the industry and the main union involved, SIPTU, to agree the make-up and functions of the new body.

Joint labour committees (JLCs) have long been a feature of the Irish industrial landscape. With representatives drawn from both sides of industry, plus some independent authorities, they set pay rates and working conditions for particular sectors, and act as final arbiters in any disputes that arise.

The latest development follows the recent award of €350,000 compensation to 13 migrant workers sacked for joining a union, and continuing agitation over alleged underpayment and exploitation by some in the industry. Junior agriculture and food minister Brendan Smith warned on Monday that the industry’s record of hard work and excellence was being tarnished by the claims of worker abuse.

The minister, who was opening a new packhouse and offices for the Commercial Mushroom Producers’ Co-operative Society (CMP) in Monaghan, acknowledged that the industry had been through “a very difficult period” because of falling prices in the UK. But he said he felt it now had the capacity to compete on the international market, and added: “The fact that the industry has been built from practically zero 25 years ago to a stage where it supplies over half the UK market is one of the biggest success stories of Irish agriculture.”

The industry had undergone profound changes, he said, with fewer than 100 producers now growing the same quantity of mushrooms - around 60,000 tonnes - as 500 producers did just six years ago. The high dependency on migrant labour had led to a focus on the rights of workers. “Worker abuse can never be condoned and it certainly will not be condoned by my government,” said Smith.

The minister announced that grant aid of almost €500,000 had been provided towards the cost of construction and equipment at the new packhouse.

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